Marrienne Elise Rankin, Countess of Ravenshire made one final stab. Under her dagger, the accursed solid illusion popped into nothingness. No notification arrived, she had not accomplished anything here. This had been nothing more than a probe for information.

  It was a sign that her information blackout had not been as complete as she’d hoped. Kandis Hammond had come in much more cautiously than she was known for. Clearly, she suspected something.

  Marrienne stared at the spot where the illusion had been until shouts from outside broke into her reverie.

  “What is that? What’s going on?”

  The Countess tsked in irritation. Didn’t the Councilors realise that they were dismissed? They should have dispersed back to their offices instead of milling around like sheep. She’d have to move them along.

  For a brief moment, she entertained having the guards do it, at swordpoint, but now was not the time. After the witch was taken care of. Stepping out into the lobby, she looked around to see what the fuss was all about.

  It didn’t take long. One of the Councillors was wreathed in light, a clear sign of the meddling gods magic. He didn’t appear to be in distress, but green flames were billowing off him.

  That didn’t bode well, but like all mages, the Countess had [Sense Mana]. The witch could conceal her illusions, but she couldn’t hide other people’s spells.

  “There!” she called out for the guards. “The spellcaster is right there!”

  “No!” Another Councilor was pointing at her. How dare… Marrienne had never bothered to learn their names. With no mages in the council room, she had just skimmed the name from their minds just before she had to sully her mouth with it. That was proving to be a little awkward now, admittedly. With a mage in the room, Marrienne couldn’t afford to give herself away.

  Whoever he was, how dare he contradict her! Marrienne opened her mouth to deliver a witheringly scornful retort, but the man continued! Talking over her!

  “She’s the one that has been casting spells on us! Changing our memory! Making false accusations against Councillor Hammond!”

  Another Councillor erupted in a column of light and green flame and Marrienne realised just what that spell was.

  Mental healing. The Councillors were getting their memories back. This was Hammond’s next play. Marrienne had thought she would have more time, but the witch must have entered the city already. Her probe had, in fact, been a distraction.

  A distraction from what? Marrienne wondered, a shiver running down her spine. Not this. The distraction had been here. This was here. This was part of the same distraction. She was the target, and she was vulnerable here.

  Marrienne could take control here. The Councilors had no social skills to speak of. The guards had no false memories to lose. They could be browbeaten into attacking the invisible mage. But that would all take time. Time, Marrienne had started to suspect, that she did not have.

  A strategic withdrawal was called for. If Marrienne was going to be forced on the defensive, she would defend her strongest point.

  “Alkeran” she said to the guards at the door. Their faces went blank on hearing the codeword and they drew their swords. Marrienne turned on her heel and strode back into the council chamber. Behind her, angry shouts turned into screams.

  Planting hidden memories had been her greatest triumph as a mage. There was no spell for it, Marrienne had stumbled across the method through careful observation of her torture victims. Torture a person enough and they will forget whatever you want, remember whatever story you tell them, just to make the pain stop. The true memories were still there, but the victim would never, ever admit to them, even to themselves.

  Learning how to duplicate the effect with magic had taken years, but they had been enjoyable ones.

  Ignoring the sounds behind her, Marrienne strode swiftly across the chamber to the door that led to the witch’s office, now hers. She didn’t spend much time here, so the fact that it had belonged to Kandis Hammond outweighed the fact that it was not the biggest room in the building. The important part was the secret passage.

  Heading directly to the tower seemed like a mistake. Kandis must be aware that the Countess’s main weakness was range. At close range, she could simply control an attacker in an emergency, or make them forget that she existed. Outside of her mental range, though, she was as vulnerable as any other Level Six.

  Walking the streets seemed like an invitation to a sudden death from a crossbow bolt, shot by a coward from a rooftop. Underground was much safer, which was why Marrienne had commissioned the passage. Getting it inserted into the construction had required numerous memories to be changed, and the assistance of Clayborne, her pet Earth mage.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Marrienne made sure the door was closed and then pushed up firmly on the light stone attached to the wall. There was a click, and a wall slid aside, revealing a ladder down. It was a tight fit, but at least the walls were clean. Marrienne wouldn’t want to get her dress dirty.

  The passageway led to the ancient sewer line that had been constructed by whatever pre-Empire civilisation that had constructed the tower. The town had been built much later, and additional sewers had only recently been connected. Fortunately, the main line was ridiculously overbuilt for its task. Magically created water was generated at the tower and ran down to the river. It was a complete waste of magic, but the Ancients weren’t around to complain to.

  With the new additions, the sewer was a far cry from the scrupulously clean tunnel Marrienne would have preferred. She would have sent someone down to clean it regularly but that would have given away that she intended to use it at some point.

  And wiping the servant’s mind every week would have become tedious. Bearing up gamely to the discomfort, Marrienne gathered up her dress and rushed forward as quickly as her dignity would allow.

  Sir Arnaud showed not a single sign of surprise when she emerged from a trapdoor in the guardroom. He simply stood and saluted.

  “Orders, my Lady?”

  “Full alert,” Marrienne said, sitting down on a convenient chair and dusting off her dress. “Kandis Hammond is in the city.”

  “We’d heard the reports and had already done that, my Lady.”

  The Countess grimaced. “The reports are out of date. That was an illusion that came through the north gate. That woman has been hidden in the town for who knows how long, gathering information and preparing her play.”

  “I see. How shall we respond, my Lady?”

  Marrienne frowned and thought about what her commander needed to know. “She has an invisible priest casting spells on the local leaders, restoring their memories.”

  “So we can expect them to be hostile,” Sir Arnaud said thoughtfully.

  “Can we keep a hold of the guard?”

  “For a while. They’re used to taking orders from us, but enough shouting about unlawful occupation from the residents will turn them eventually. If you want them to raid the Council, you’ll want to do it quickly, in the next few days.”

  “Hmm. Have Stéphane spread some conflicting rumours, about the Council throwing in with the criminal. He can make it seem like they’re coming from someone they trust.”

  “Yes, my Lady. That will only buy us a few more days, though. These people have family in town. Too much conflicting information will just make them go sullen and uncooperative.”

  “Understood. I’m not quite ready to execute the Council yet, especially if Hammond is expecting it. I need to keep my most loyal troops close by.”

  “Speaking of troops, I haven’t had any word that the Adventurer’s Guild is mobilising. Though, they can move fast when they want to.”

  “Yes, they would be Hammond’s most likely source of footsoldiers, wouldn’t they? Make sure you keep a close watch on them. And…”

  The Countess paused. Did she really need to burn a contingency like this? After a few moment’s thought, she concluded that she did. She pulled out a slip of paper from a pocket in her dress. It had two words written on it.

  “Have a runner take this to the guards on the south gate,” she said. “Have him say the first word. He should get the second word back in response. If he doesn’t try another guard until he does.”

  All of her runners could read so that they could, if necessary, read out her messages to the recipients. Other people’s memories had been the Countess’s playground for so long that she had no faith in their reliability.

  “Yes, my Lady,” Sir Arnauld said, taking the paper. He didn’t move, though, he hadn’t been dismissed. “Is there anything else?”

  Marrienne thought about it. She didn’t need to tell him how to arrange the men, he knew how better than she did. There was something else, though…

  “Oh yes, the wolf-kin. We don’t need him to send false reports anymore. Have him killed.”

  Sir Arnauld smiled for the first time. “Does it need to be quick?” he asked.

  “I suppose not. But I don’t want you to get distracted! If you plan to take your time, he can wait until we’ve dealt with Hammond.”

  “I shall look forward to it, my Lady.”

  She nodded, and he took his leave. Marrienne sat there thinking about her next move. The Council wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things. If they couldn’t turn the guard against her, they were helpless. The Guild was sworn not to interfere, but Marrienne trusted that not at all. The remaining factor was the beast-kin, but her contingency should take care of that.

  Deciding that she should observe the lay of the land, she headed upstairs. The roof would have had a better view, but it was also subject to assassins. Arnauld would find her wherever she was, and if there were rioters in the streets coming after her, she wanted to see them coming.

  She paused when she got to the floor that held her private quarters. The door was open.

  That wasn’t supposed to happen. Marrienne was meticulous about keeping her private quarters, private. Someone with as many secrets as she had to. No maid was allowed in without strict supervision, followed by just as strict editing of what they had seen. Not that she’d had time to set up any of her special projects in this gods-forsaken place, but the habits had been set in stone. They had to be unbreakable.

  For her door to be open, now, it had to be enemy action. But there was no one inside. Hammond might be able to hide her body, but she couldn’t hide her mind. Without a visible target, Marrienne couldn’t read or control that mind, but she could sense it. If it was there.

  Which it wasn’t. The room was empty.

  Marrienne stepped forward carefully. She thought about traps, but she knew her apartment, and she didn’t see anything. Did Hammond have a spell that concealed items? She hadn’t the last time that Marrienne had read her mind, but that was some time ago.

  She couldn’t ignore the open door. There were too many things in here that were important. They were hidden, of course, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be found.

  She slowly stepped inside. This room might be called her office. Her bedroom was behind a door on the far side. This was where she received guests, and reports from her minions. There was a large desk for her to look imposing behind and of course a chair. A chair that was facing the other way.

  Even knowing what was going to happen, she still had to stand there and look. The chair swung around, revealing…

  Kandis Hammond, of course. Though, not her. There was no mind behind that smile, this was another one of her illusions.

  “Lady Rankin,” the false smile said. “So glad you could make it.”

  Author's note: It's probably a good idea to go over some characters that haven't been seen in a while.

  Unnamed Council members: Haha, if I don’t name them, you don’t have to look them up! Thanks, Countess!

  Marrienne Elise Rankin: I don’t think I ever gave her full name before. Still the countess. No, I don’t ever get tired of the Earless thing.

  Merrik Claybourne: I did name this guy, but he didn’t get to appear. He’s a mystery man!

  Sir Arnaud de Vautré: He’s new. He kills people. I mean, yeah, it’s his job, but it’s also his hobby.

  Stéphane Archambault: Hahahaha, yeah, I brought him back. This is the same illusionist that Kandis has wiped the floor with before. Marrienne understands that he’s not as good as Kandis, and Stéphane understands that there’s a short table that gets longer in his near future if he doesn’t perform adequately.

  Anas: Well, now we know where he is!